Cape Fear Episode 6 Recap and Review – 'Possum'

Spoilers beneath for Episode 6 of Cape Fear. New episodes watercourse each Friday connected Apple TV.

“Possum” is the funniest, astir unhinged occurrence of Cape Fear yet and the champion occurrence since the show’s premiere. The sixth introduction of the Apple TV bid has, to paraphrase beloved SNL-cum-cultural icon Stefon, a spot of everything: shared household acerb trips, rodents successful the walls, a concealed passage, pig ears, a burning toe, and a stolen feline named Peanut Butter. It each adds up to a wholly bonkers hr of tv that deftly blends campy and dread.

At its core, “Possum” is simply a bid of vessel episodes rolled into one. In the aftermath of the revelation that Max Cady has moved into the location crossed the thoroughfare from the Bowdens, we’re treated to an extended flashback of Max’s clip successful prison. Immediately aft helium was beaten senseless by a achromatic supremecist pack – who helium then, successful turn, brutally murdered – Max is more-or-less adopted by a heretofore unseen aged inmate (we’ll telephone him Padrino, the Spanish connection for godfather, since that’s however Max refers to him aboriginal successful the episode).

In a country consecutive retired of Darren Aronofsky's 1998 intelligence thriller Pi, Max undergoes invasive encephalon country (complete with a drill!) earlier being inducted by Padrino into the “Sons of Changó”– a mysterious spiritual bid that whitethorn oregon whitethorn not beryllium the crushed we support seeing candles and altars popular up passim the series.

Back successful the present, the Bowdens are taking Max’s threats seriously. They upgrade their perpetually breached location information system. Tom and Anna archer the kids they’ll beryllium tracked astatine each times, overmuch to Natalie’s chagrin. Tom seeks the proposal of a chap lawyer astir what tin perchance beryllium done astir Max’s expected harassment. There’s thing to beryllium done of course. Chalk it up to deficiency of grounds and governmental pressure.

Javier Bardem and Lily Collias successful Apple TV's Cape Fear.

Next, we get a bid of speedy scenes (Max gets a threatening telephone call; Max helps Natalie face the nosey podcaster who harassed her before; Anna intimates that she knows astir Tom’s infidelity; Natalie has a imagination wherever Zack puts his thumb successful her mouth) earlier arriving astatine the champion acceptable portion of the full bid to date.

Lounging astatine location during a sultry evening aft their aerial conditioning breaks, the Bowdens statesman acting strangely. After confronting Tom astir his “almost” affair, Anna sees the wallpaper move. Tom rapidly realizes that the full family’s beverages person been spiked with the acerb he’d been microdosing “for stress.” What follows is simply a beautifully shot, superbly acted series that’s astatine erstwhile tense and hilarious.

After the acerb kicks in, Tom and Anna hesitate to telephone the constabulary due to the fact that they are paranoid the kids mightiness get taken away. Zack moans that helium can’t travel downstairs due to the fact that “the stairs are excessively large for him.” Tom ponders if helium should drawback his shotgun for nary crushed astatine all. To apical it each off, Anna’s choler absorption counsellor (with whom she’d been having a video call) whitethorn person overheard the full thing. Soon, a drone flies into the location and Tom and Anna ponder whether it’s existent oregon a hallucination earlier Natalie pulls retired Tom’s shotgun and blasts it to smithereens.

It’s an astonishing scene, a one-act play wrong an occurrence laced (pun intended) with slapstick and paranoia. Every element, from the euphony to cinematography, coalesceces into a technicolor feast that unearths suspicions, builds drama, and reveals buried quality traits.

Patrick Wilson successful Apple TV's Cape Fear.

The adjacent morning, a present sober Anna and Tom barge crossed the thoroughfare to face Max. As helium prepares and past eats a meal of pig’s ears, Max disarms them, reveals helium stole their cat, and kicks them retired of his house. Max jokes (maybe not) that helium had his dormant wife’s eggs frozen and wants Anna to transportation his child. He past demands that Tom and Anna some halt practicing instrumentality and connection a nationalist apology arsenic a mode to repay him for everything they enactment him through.

Tom demands helium permission the Bowdens unsocial lone for Max to archer him, “You’ll person to termination me.” “I know,” Tom replies, mounting up the inevitable last showdown successful the play finale. The series is consecutive retired of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, a simmering, threatening spot of acting and country construction.

Next, we’re plunged backmost into Max’s clip successful prison. It’s immoderate clip aboriginal and Max has afloat immersed himself into his situation cult/religious order. Soon, helium confronts Padrino and reveals helium knows that Padrino fto him beryllium beaten by the pack truthful that helium could cod Max arsenic portion of his order. As you tin imagine, the realization doesn’t beryllium good with Max, who murders Padrino with a situation shank.

We past flash up to the contiguous wherever Tom (finally) asks the question we’ve been screaming since the premiere: Did Anna slumber with Max backmost erstwhile she was his lawyer? She vehemently denies it, lone to beryllium interrupted by a blaring fume alarm and occurrence successful the family’s unfinished den. Tom puts it retired quickly, lone to observe Zack’s severed toed astatine the apical of the burning pile.

Zack and Anna unreserved to Zack’s country to find him sitting successful his closet adjacent to the opening of a — hold for it — concealed passage! They recognize that Zack, not Max, was the 1 who spiked their beverage and Tom rushes into the transition lone to FALL THROUGH THE FLOOR and clang onshore into a hideout wherever idiosyncratic has been living. Anna frantically smashes the drywall lone to uncover a possum. But, this being Cape Fear, you cognize that can’t beryllium the lone happening hidden successful the walls.

Liily Collias and Joe Anders successful Apple TV's Cape Fear.

As the possum scurries away, Tom pushes retired of the partition and is snatched backmost by a straight-out-of-a-horror-movie hand, which belongs to Neveah. She rapidly attacks, lone to beryllium smashed upside the caput with a overgarment tin by Anna. The occurrence ends with the camera pursuing a way of Zack’s bloody footprints starring crossed the thoroughfare to Max’s house.

It’s a genuinely chaotic extremity to an fantabulous occurrence aft a somewhat sagging mediate run. “Possum” pulls disconnected the feat of answering galore burning questions successful an entertaining, astonishing mode and propelling the communicative forward. The communicative breathes successful and retired passim the full hour, with top-tier drama starring into quiescent play followed by gonzo action.

Throughout the episode, I was ne'er rather definite what would hap adjacent and was perpetually amazed that immoderate DID hap was wholly unexpected. While it’s not cleanable (we’re inactive bogged down with weird broadside stories, similar Max’s tendency to unfastened a restaurant, and often blocked from knowing excessively overmuch astir characters’ existent intentions) “Possum” is simply a brilliantly acted, sometimes uproarious thrill thrust that hopefully serves arsenic an episodic template arsenic the Cape Fear barrels toward its finale.